1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording apparatus of the type having a recording-medium loading section for loading a recording medium, and more specifically, relates to a recording apparatus such as a printer which serves as an information output device for computers, a copying machine, and a facsimile.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, recording apparatus that performs recording using a recording medium are normally capable of using various types of recording media, such as plain paper, OHP (overhead projector) sheets, and glossy paper. In general, recording conditions are changed in a recording device according to the type of recording medium in recording.
There are various methods for obtaining information on the type of recording medium.
Relatively large recording apparatus for performing high-volume recording employs a method whereby dedicated cassettes each serving as a container only for one type of recording medium are used and the type of cassette is discriminated in recording to obtain information on the paper type.
On the other hand, relatively compact recording apparatus that use no cassette are equipped with a paper feeding section such that various types of recording media can be fed with single paper feeding device, though the number of recording media to be loaded is small because of the limited size of the apparatus.
Such a compact apparatus structure is convenient for a user who uses various types of recording media but uses only a small number of recording media in one recording operation, thereby allowing frequent change of the type of recording medium to be loaded.
However, in such apparatus, during the time after the power of the recording apparatus has been turned on to the start of recording, it is unpredictable whether or not the recording medium loaded to the paper feeding section is the recording medium which will be used for recording, so that it was difficult to provide for timing of discriminating the paper type of the loaded recording medium. Accordingly, in general, a system is employed in which the recording apparatus is not equipped with a paper-type discriminating device, but alternatively, a user sets the type of recording medium when outputting record data and record instructions, such as from a host computer, and transmits the set paper-type information to the recording apparatus.
However, the foregoing user-configurable system is not easy to operate, because the user tends to forget the setting operation. Therefore, there has been proposed and implemented relatively compact recording apparatus without the cassettes but which have a system for automatically discriminating the type of recording medium.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,734,405 discloses a method of obtaining paper-type information using a recording-medium discriminating device during feeding of the recording medium as on type of automatic paper-type discriminating method that is adopted in such compact recording apparatus. This presents an example in which a recording-medium discriminating device is mounted between a recording-medium loading position and a recording position by a recording device through paper feeding, and the loaded recording-medium discriminating device automatically discriminates the type of recording medium. Also, compact recording apparatus equipped with a recording-medium discriminating device to discriminate the recording medium automatically have been put on the market.
FIG. 5 shows an example of the paper-type discriminating method.
As shown in FIG. 5, when the power of the recording apparatus is turned on, a controller in the recording apparatus, which includes a CPU (central processing unit), waits for a recording instruction to be inputted from a record-data inputting device such as a host computer to indicate that the printing process has started (S501).
When the record data from the record-data inputting device has been inputted, the reception of the record data is started (S502 and S503). Subsequently, the paper-feeding operation is started (S504); the edge of the recording medium is sensed by a paper-edge sensor (S505); and then, the edge of the recording medium is placed in a recording-operation start position (S506). Thereafter, information on the type of recording medium is obtained by a recording-medium discriminating device, which is mounted to a main scanning device (carriage) for transferring a recording device in the main scanning direction (S507). Then, recording conditions corresponding to the recording medium are set in accordance with the obtained information and recording is performed (S508).
However, the conventional recording apparatus that operate as described above have the following disadvantages.
In the method of obtaining information on the discrimination of the recording medium type by setting a dedicated cassette for each recording medium and sensing the type of cassette, the types of cassettes increase with an increase in the types of recording media, requiring the storage for unused cassettes. Also, when the same type of recording medium is continuously used and various types of recording media are not frequently used, there are no problems; however, sometimes only one different recording medium is desired to be used and in such a case, the cassette must be removed. Also, when various types of recording media are frequently used, the cassette must be replaced frequently, which is burdensome.
On the other hand, in the method of obtaining information on the paper-type by a recording-medium discriminating device during the transfer of the recording medium in the relatively compact recording apparatus without cassettes, the recording medium is discriminated after the start of recording, taking extra recording time and reducing the throughput correspondingly. Also, it is necessary to change the paper-feed conditions depending on the recording medium for reliable paper feeding. However, in the conventional paper-type discriminating method described above, since the type of recording medium is discriminated after being carried to the position of the recording-medium discriminating device, which is mounted to the carriage, that is, after the paper-feeding operation, it was impossible to perform an appropriate paper-feeding/transferring operation according to the type of recording medium. Consequently, the obtained paper-type information was not sufficiently used for paper-feeding/transferring operation.
The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the conventional art, and it is an object of the invention to provide a recording apparatus with excellent usability in which there is no need for the user to input information on the type of recording medium and which is capable of realizing a reliable recording operation by making the best use of obtained information, and to provide a method of discriminating the type of recording medium.
In order to solve the above problems of the conventional art, the present invention has the following arrangement.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording apparatus comprising: a recording-medium loading section for loading a recording medium; a recording unit; and a feed mechanism for feeding the recording medium loaded in the recording-medium loading section; wherein the recording unit records on the recording medium fed by the feed mechanism; a load detecting device for detecting that a recording medium has been loaded in the recording-medium loading section; a recording-medium discriminating device for discriminating the type of recording medium loaded in the recording-medium loading section; and a control for initiating discrimination by the recording-medium discriminating device to discriminate the type of recording medium in the loading section in response to the detection by the load detecting device, and for controlling the operation of the recording unit according to the type of recording medium.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording-medium-type discriminating method executed in a recording apparatus comprising a recording-medium loading section for loading a recording medium and a feed mechanism for feeding the loaded recording medium to a recording unit; the method comprising the steps of: detecting loading of the recording medium in the recording-medium loading section; and discriminating the type of recording medium loaded in the recording-medium loading section; wherein the step of discriminating of the type of recording medium is in response to the detection in the load detecting step that the recording medium has been loaded in the recording-medium loading section.
According to the present invention, before the feeding mechanism starts the feeding operation or when the load detecting device has detected the load of the recording medium, the recording-medium discriminating device discriminates the type of recording medium and controls the recording operation by the discriminated recording medium type information. This eliminates the need for the user to input information on the recording medium frequently, as in conventional art; thus, reliable recording operation with excellent usability can be realized in which obtained information is best used.
Further objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments (with reference to the attached drawings).